Developing cross-platform mobile applications with NativeScript using JavaScript
Defria Manda
Software Developer
South Africa
Summary
Over the years, learning anything about technology has become a way of life. Started the journey as a desktop support engineer aspiring to be a software developer. Now a seasoned software developer. I've got an innate ability to learn new technologies, patterns and practices quickly. On average, I spend about 60hrs a month learning. I am passionate about DevOps and Software Engineering. I working toward being a software evangelist to further stretch my thinking. I've worked as DevOps lead, Engineering Coach and currently Lead Product Engineer, directing various teams. Outside the professional world, I am a Wellness Coach, and an avid runner (17min 5k'er). I work with people, motivate them and encourage them to live a healthy lifestyle. I’ve brought this into the work environment.
Overview
13
13
years of professional experience
12
12
years of post-secondary education
18
18
Certificates
Work History
Lead Product Engineer
Absa
Sandton
03.2023 - Current
- Test completed projects for functionality and implemented changes to production.
- Drive continuous improvement culture in engineering to provide clear product design standards, improve productivity through enhanced documentation and creating sample application.
- Collaborate with dev and operations teams to develop and implement product improvements to reduce toil.
- Lead continuous improvements in engineering, resulting in clearer product design standards and reduced engineering cycle time.
- Recommend solutions, built custom proposals, prepared supporting information, deliver presentations and create training video content to speed up adoption.
- Communicate with vendors to meet Absa's needs.
- Identify new ideas, products and/or features that improved customer satisfaction, reduced costs and kept product line in forefront of industry.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to conceptualize and refine product concepts.
- 7x AWS Certified because I like the challenge (journey to all 12x)
Senior Software Engineer
Investec
Sandton
01.2020 - 03.2022
- Working on the Investec Rewards program. Responsible of the full application life cycle and including evaluating business requirements, system analysis and design, writing of technical specifications, programming, testing (unit tests, integration,e2e), maintenance and technical support.
- Discuss project progress with stakeholders, collect feedback on different stages and directly address concerns.
- Estimate work hours and track progress using Scrum methodology.
- Train and mentor junior developers and engineers, teaching skills in Automated Testing with Selenium + JAVA and working to improve overall team performance.
- Suggest improvements to team and project workflow.
Engineering Coach
Standard Bank Group
Johannesburg
09.2019 - 01.2020
- Manage, coach and execute the skills and competency development of Technology Engineering staff across Standard Bank Group that spans across all Software Engineering disciplines
- Build an environment where continuous improvement of the technical competency development process is in focus
Build engineering excellence capability for the Group, and set the standards, frameworks, build the CoE and develop the toolbox - Stay abreast of current and future industry trends in methodologies and ability understand the critical factors impacting Group IT and refocus and realign with the business strategy and psychology needed for competing and innovating Link and apply complex technologies to business strategies
- Recognise promising technological innovations and build these competencies into the organisation
- Be the voice and technical expert of engineering in Group IT
- Develop frameworks and models that will enable and support the continuous development of technical skill across Group IT
- Define, develop and implement IT Engineering standards
- Shape the future IT landscape and lead the Engineering transformation journey at in the organisation through the centre of excellence (CoE)
- Present at Guilds (Internal and External)
- Host and contribute to Masterclasses
Software Developer
ABSA Capital
Sandton
08.2013 - 09.2019
- Development and enhancement of in-house applications
- Support and implementation of vendor applications
- Development of integration between existing in-house systems and third party systems (JSE,Bloomberg,Reuters,IRESS,iNET)
- Provide secondary applications support to business
- Document Business Continuity Plans(DR),
- Conduct system testing as specified in the system test plan and document the outcomes
- Conduct business and technical training
- Provide stability to the production system by implementing relevant error checking mechanisms and specific alerts
- Collaborated on all stages of systems development lifecycle, from requirements gathering to production releases
- Coordinated with project management staff on applications development timelines and project scope
- Debugged and troubleshot vendor applications (Global One, GCMS, APEX) and in-house applications for clients, solving technical issues quickly and accurately
- Researched, designed and implemented monitoring for applications
- Wrote Powershell/Shell scripts for daily maintenance activities, including automated deployment and health checks
- Wrote and updated documentation to outline technical design of entire project
- Introduce/Improve DevOps ways of work
- Consulted with customers to gather requirements and discuss design choices
- Worked in Agile-driven environment to effectively maintain project timelines and utilize available resources
- Designed and updated layouts to meet usability and performance requirements
- Developed designs to meet specific requirements such as quick-loading WPF applications with particular layouts
- Used various technologies, including ComponentOne, DevExpress, Material UI to create eye catching and functional UIs
- Assisted with cloud migration and adoption
- Created scripts for deploying applications to Azure VMs
System Administrator
Investec Bank
Sandton
03.2012 - 06.2013
- Installed and upgraded internal and third party software
- Resolved issues and escalated problems with knowledgeable support and quality service
- Served as second level support IPH(Payment Hub)
- Develop SQL scripts for reporting and troubleshooting
- Served as second level Accurate(Reconciliation System) support
In-house and vendor System maintenance - Develop PowerShell Scripts to automate processing files into Reconciliation System with batch processing engine Control-M
- Configuration and Maintenance of TradeSTP (Data router Server)
- Monitoring batch jobs on Control-M
Service Desk Technician
Investec Bank
Sandton
01.2011 - 02.2012
- Provided second level help desk support for problems relating to Active Directory
- Performed cross platform audits of Active Directory (AD) objects and user permissions
- Managed User Accounts on WindowsNT Platform (Creation, Deletion, Permissions)
- Created and maintained email addresses and distribution lists in MS Exchange
- Engaged end users and answered questions via email, phone
- Followed up with clients to ensure optimal customer satisfaction following support engagement and problem resolution
- Worked with software development team on reported errors and bugs on newly released software and assisted in deployment of release fixes
Desktop Support Engineer
Investec Bank
Sandton
01.2010 - 06.2011
- Configured hardware, devices and software to set up work stations for employees
- Patched software and installed new versions
- Removed malware, ransomware and other threats from laptops and desktop systems
- Collaborated with vendors to locate replacement components and resolve advanced problems
- Explained technical information in clear terms to non-technical individuals to promote better understanding
- Broke down and evaluated user problems using test scripts, personal expertise and probing questions
- Removed and replaced malfunctioning components to correct hardware problems
- Responded to support requests from end users and patiently walked individuals through basic troubleshooting tasks
- Helped streamline repair processes and update procedures for support action consistency
- Leveraged Active Directory to reset user passwords, create or delete user accounts, and assign account privileges according to established processes
- Assessed system hardware and software and suggested modifications to reduce lag time and improve overall speed
- Relocated and configured desktop computer devices and phones to facilitate office moves and new employee workstations
- Leveraged ticket tracking system to prioritise, track and document problem resolutions and notify customers of issue status
Education
IT Engineering Honours -
CTI (Computer Training Institute)
Bedfordview 02.2007 - 08.2009
Senior Certificate -
Dinwiddie High School
Germiston 01.2003 - 12.2006
Hyde Park High School
Johannesburg 01.2002 - 12.2003
Craighall Primary School
Johannesburg 01.1998 - 12.2001
Skills
Moving/Hosting application in Azure leveraging various Azure services such as Azure Key Vault Managed Service Indenty Azure Pipelines Azure functions Azure Logic Apps
undefinedSoftware
Developing WPF desktop applications
Building backend services with C#
Build RESTful APIs with ASPNET Web API
Workflow automation with Python
Automated UI testing with Selenium JAVA TestNG
Databases (T-SQL, UniData, MongoDB)
Certification
RDMD (Relational Database Modeling & Design )
Timeline
Lead Product Engineer
Absa
03.2023 - Current
Senior Software Engineer
Investec
01.2020 - 03.2022
Engineering Coach
Standard Bank Group
09.2019 - 01.2020
Software Developer
ABSA Capital
08.2013 - 09.2019
System Administrator
Investec Bank
03.2012 - 06.2013
Service Desk Technician
Investec Bank
01.2011 - 02.2012
Desktop Support Engineer
Investec Bank
01.2010 - 06.2011
IT Engineering Honours -
CTI (Computer Training Institute)
02.2007 - 08.2009
Senior Certificate -
Dinwiddie High School
01.2003 - 12.2006
Hyde Park High School
01.2002 - 12.2003
Craighall Primary School
01.1998 - 12.2001
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